SOCOSOCO Sheet

Official quarterly newsletter of the AFM Southern Conference of Locals
Aaron Lack, President -- Jessica Kunttu, VP -- Jeffrey Apana, Secretary-Treasurer and Editor and Publisher

2023Q4


Meeting Updates


The next virtual meet-up will be held on Monday, December 11, 2023 at 12PM Eastern (11am Central). Links will be sent a few days before...mark you calendars now!


The 2024 conference will be held on June 22-23, 2024 at the Holiday Inn Austin Town Lake in Austin, Texas. For updates on the annual meeting of the Conference, please keep an eye on this webpage:

www.afmsoco.org/conference/2024.html


The 2025 conference will be held on June 21-22, 2025 at the Doubletree by Hilton Campbell Centre in Dallas, Texas. For updates on the annual meeting of the Conference, please keep an eye on this webpage:

www.afmsoco.org/conference/2025.html

AFM News


The AFM has extended the MPTF and Local Internet Streaming Agreements through September 30, 2024. Terms and conditions are similar to past agrteements, however there is a new streaming agreement specificially for Houses of Worship. The new Local Administration Packet for Internet Streaming is available on the AFM website in the document library under "EMSD."


Virtual Office Standards


Please note that the changes to AFM Bylaws this summer now require that "Each Local shall maintain a separate and dedicated email account for each of its administrative officers and staff...which shall be preserved and kept as part of the Local’s permanent records." If you are using a personal email account for union business, now is a good time to set up a free email account (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) to be used exclusively for union business that you can preserve and hand down to future officers.

The President's Dispatch


Much has happened since we were together at The 102nd AFM International Convention in June. Unions are reclaiming worker power that has been left unused for too long. Our own union is being seen in a new light in our communities by new and old musicians alike. As always, the best time to organize is thirty years ago, but the second best time is right now!

I am happy to report that our first Southern Conference Social, on September 25th, was a success. Delegates and other leadership from our conference got together on a video call and discussed a multitude of topics from orientations to negotiations to single engagement contracts. At the end of the day, it was great to hear from everyone who was in attendance! I invite every local in the conference to attend the next social on Monday December 11th at noon Eastern/11am Central.

Southern Conference Secretary-Treasurer, Jeff Apana, Vice President, Jessica Kunttu, and I invite you to request an appointment to the Bylaws, Orientations, or Agenda Committees as we would like to make these areas of The Conference more relevant to what you, The Delegates, would value at our meeting in June and throughout the year. With this in mind, we’re planning to have these committees meet via teleconference during the Winter and Spring.

Finally, partly as a result of your survey responses, the AFM International Executive Board’s Education Committee has decided to offer the Officer Training Program in a fashion similar to how it was offered in previous years. The training will take place two days before our annual meeting, in the same location. Look for more information on this important resource soon!

In Solidarity, -Aaron Lack, President, AFM Southern Conference of Locals

Conference Activities


Website

The Conference now has a website at www.afmsoco.org! It currently contains copies of our Bylaws, a list of member Locals with website links, minutes from past meetings, and annual meeting information (including dates and locations of future annual meetings). We hope to add resources such as newsletter articles on various issues that can be shared for inclusion in your Local newsletters, as well as other articles that may be helpful to Local officers. Please let us know how we can make the website more useful to you!


Orientations

We would like to launch regional orientation meetings in the first quarter of 2024 so that Locals can be in compliance with the new AFM Bylaw. If you are interested in participating, or would like to help us beta test our orientation program, please contact the officers of the Conference.


Bylaw Review

Our Bylaws are due for a review...times have changed and our Bylaws have not. If you are willing to serve on the Bylaw Committee and attend a virtual meeting or two please let us know!


Agenda Committee

The Agenda Committee is expanding operations year round! In addition to creating the agenda for the conference, we will identify topics for further discussion and consideration throughout the year. The hope is that this will help us connect and improve as a conference throughout the year, but also ensure the conference agenda is meaningful and impactful. Is there something you'd like to see SoCo focus on this year? Send an email to jessica.kunttu@afm500.org!


Name our Newsletter!

If you have a great name for our new newsletter, please let us know! The naming contest ends on February 1, 2024, just prior to our next publication date.